Titles, state berths on the line at Masters wrestling championships

CHICO — The Northern Section CIF Masters Wrestling Championships has been a two-team show the past three years.

The Orland and Chico High squads have jockeyed for the team title as they have combined for the past four championships. And the past three seasons, whichever team doesn't win, ended up second as the Trojans did to Chico in 2010, and then the Panthers the last two years to Orland.

This time around, a third school could break the stranglehold at the top as both teams' coaches recognize Sutter, the Division II champion this year, as a threat.

Chico coach Keith Rollins said his assistant coach Jordan Mathews drew out the brackets and had the three teams finishing within about 10 points between them.

Orland coach Victor Perry agreed that the team title is also up for grabs.

"It'll be a great Masters tournament like it always is," Perry said. "But I think Chico is still the favorite."

Perry said the Panthers are the presumed favorite in part because Jesse Chambers is back after a season-long absence from an ankle injury during football season. The senior is a top challenger in the 145-pound division, and Perry added the Panthers seem to be peaking at the right time.

And that would be just fine with Rollins, who has his eyes both on his team and the event itself. Chico is the host school for the two-day event held at the Redding Convention Center.

Friday's action is set for a noon start, and Saturday's schedule begins at 10 a.m. Championship matches are slated to begin about 5 p.m. Saturday.

General admission is $12 for one day and $20 for both days. Seniors 60 and older get in for $7 for one day or $12 for both, and students with an ASB card get in for $6 per day and students in kindergarten through eighth grade get in for $5 per day.

With Chico serving as host, the Panthers' program stands to gain if people make the trip to see the masters. If they do, they'll get to see several Panthers. Chico is the lone school to have a participant in all 14 weight classes.

Three Panthers are the favorites in their weight classes — Morgan Sauseda at 106, Cordero Rios at 160 and Sam Miller at 182. Several other area standouts are also the No. 1 seed in their division. The top-three placers in each weight class qualify for the state tournament.

Here's a look at the weight classes:

* 106: Sauseda is the top seed after he beat Paradise's Logan Hoskins 8-3 in the Division I meet, avenging two losses to the Bobcat at the league meet and in a dual meeting earlier. Hoskins and Orland's Hugo Punzo, the second seed, would face each other in the semifinal, making it so Sauseda only has to face one of them. All three are ranked in the top 25 in the state by TheCaliforniaWrestler.com.

* 113: Shasta's Matt Smull is ranked seventh in the state and is the top seed. Nathan Jones of Lassen is the second seed, and Chico's Cameron Leary is No. 3. Smull beat Leary in the Division I final.

* 126: Paradise's Wyatt Wyckoff, who is eighth in the state, is the prohibitive favorite. The sophomore, who won the section title at 113 as a freshman, was sharp in the Division I final against Foothill's Zeke Andrade, who is ranked 10th in the state. Andrade took an injury default while trailing 4-1. Taylor Enck of Orland is the third seed.

* 132: Oroville's Michael Ripley breezed through the Division I final, pinning Enterprise's Michael Lee, who is seeded fourth for the masters, in 30 seconds. The Tigers' junior is ranked 18th in the state. Sutter's Hunter Minton is seeded second.

* 138: Chester's Rocklin Loranger is the No. 1 seed, but this division could have some interesting results. Paradise's Markham Odell is the second seed, and he pulled off a 4-2 overtime victory in the final against Chico's Joseph Moure in Division I. Moure, the fifth seed, could also go deep. Orland senior Tyler Embrey, No. 3, is another threat.

* 145: Durham's Matt Boles is the No. 1 seed, but this division has one of the deeper pools of talent, especially with Chico's Chambers, the third seed, back in action. Shasta's Preston Wallers is No. 2. Orland's Lorenzo Landeros, the fifth seed, is another potential finalist.

* 152: Chester's John Leal is the No. 1 seed, and he's seventh in the state. Jerome Munoz is the fourth seed for Chico. Sutter's Alex Ingram is No. 2.

* 160: Chico's Cordero Rios is the top seed, and Rollins said he hopes Rios can rack up plenty of points on what he hopes will be a run to the section title. Durham's Jake Wiley is the second seed, and Oroville's Jacob Thornton is No. 4.

* 170: Paradise's Keefer Fulton is the No. 1 seed, and Chico's Caleb Jorgensen is second. Fulton beat Jorgensen 5-0 in the Division I final, but the match was scoreless until the end of the second round.

* 182: Chico's Miller is the third top seed for Chico. The senior has had a successful follow-up to a standout football season and is in position for a title. It won't be easy. Sutter's Chase Gildea is the second seed. Orland's Dylan Hill is No. 3, and Perry said he's the team's leader and he will be a handful for everyone he faces.

* 195: Etna's Hayden Kaae is the No. 1 seed, but another Sutter grappler is second in Michael Thompson. Chico's Aaron Bates is seeded third. Oroville's Dalton Scism is fourth, and Orland's Ben Howard is fifth, making for what could be another wide-open weight class.

* 220: This could end up the best final if seedings hold. Foothill's Evan Dahlquist, who is seventh in the state, is the top seed, and Orland's Victor Raigoza, the second seed, is fourth in the state. Dahlquist pinned Raigoza at the NorCal Invitational in Anderson, leading to the seeding switch. Both could place at state, making this one to watch. Fifth-seeded Cody Young of Pleasant Valley gave Dahlquist all he could handle in a 1-0 Division I final.